STARKVILLE, Miss. - For the fourth time this season, the Mississippi State men's tennis squad (9-2) shutout an opponent Saturday, this time blanking the Samford Bulldogs (4-3) 7-0 at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre Saturday. MSU improved to 10-3 all-time against the visiting Bulldogs.

State jumped out early on Samford, with wins on courts two and three to claim the doubles point. The MSU duo of Zach White and Ethan Wilkinson claimed victory first, with an 8-5 win against Samford's Austin Akers and Elliot Barnwell on court two. Samford leveled the playing field when Zac Dunkle and Garrison Laduca upset the MSU No. 13 duo of Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp 8-6.

The doubles point came down to court three, where the MSU freshmen duo of Romain Bogaerts and Pedro Dumont defeated Samford's Fares Kilani and Alex Sajonz 8-6 to give State the early lead.

In singles play, State swept the board, but not without a little fight from the visiting Bulldogs. MSU senior James Chaudry defeated Kilani with ease, taking a 6-1, 6-1 victory on court three. Following suit was MSU's No. 19 Bogaerts who defeated Samford's Dunkle in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to give State the 3-0 advantage.

On court five, MSU freshman Stefan Vinti found himself down early in the first set 3-0, but fought back to take the first set and then the match 6-3, 6-2 to defeat Samford's Austin Akers, clinching the overall match for Mississippi State.

Play continued on courts two, four and six, all resulting in MSU Bulldog victories. At the No. 2 position, State's 43rd-ranked Stropp dropped his first set, but only lost one game the remainder of the match to defeat Samford's Barnwell 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.

The MSU freshman Dumont also saw victory in a three -setter, taking down Samford's Laduca 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 on court six. At the No. 4 position, State's Angus improved to 10-0 for the dual match season, defeating Samford's Sajonz 6-7(3), 6-4, 1-0(4) to complete the shutout.

"We came in today wanting to bounce back from our last match in Seattle and we did so by picking up a win," head coach Per Nilsson said. "However, we have to play better tomorrow to have a good showing against a tough Middle Tennessee team."

The Maroon and White return to action tomorrow, as they face No. 47 Middle Tennessee at 12 p.m. CT at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

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